


React and Reshape

by Branithar



Series: Threaded Together [3]
Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Animal Death, Demons, Dismemberment, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28107564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/pseuds/Branithar
Summary: Growing up, Ashton had a tough time learning how to fit in with normal humans.
Series: Threaded Together [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1821667
Kudos: 4





	React and Reshape

**Author's Note:**

> I may write more chapters for this if people are interested in more Ashton backstory. 
> 
> Title is from Introduced Species by Hands Like Houses.

“Moira, look!” 

Moira stopped shuffling her tarot cards to look, jumping slightly. “Ashton, what the _fuck?_ ”

Ashton faltered, lowering the rat. 

“Where did you get that?” she demanded. 

“I caught it in a trap I made.” 

“And you… did _that_ to it?” she asked, nose wrinkling. 

“I wanted to know what's inside,” he explained, “There’s _lots._ ” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” 

Ashton frowned at the mess of red-stained fur, bones and entrails in his hands. “Did I do it wrong?”

“You can’t just kill things and cut them up,” Moira snapped, slapping her cards down on the table. 

“Why not?” 

“It’s…” Moira gestured angrily. “ _Cruel._ ” 

“It didn’t suffer,” Ashton assured her quickly, “I broke its neck first.” 

Moira gave an exasperated sigh. “But you shouldn’t go around _killing_ things. It’s wrong to cut lives short for… curiosity and your own amusement.” 

Ashton stared at the remains of the rat, eyes welling up. He hadn’t meant to upset Moira; professionalism be damned, he cared about his biological mother and never wanted her to be unhappy. 

“Look, let’s bury it outside and get your hands washed,” Moira suggested less angrily. 

Ashton sniffed and nodded, following her to the backyard. “I killed it instead of the Woods’ dog because I thought rats were bad for humans.” 

“You wanted to kill their dog?” Moira asked as she dug a small hole next to a tree. 

Ashton put the bits of rat in the hole and pushed dirt over the top. A few tears spilled from his eyes. “I want to know how it works.” 

Moira stared at him for a moment before standing. “Come wash your hands.” 

As the red-tinted water from the hose soaked into the ground, Moira sighed. “Wild rats _are_ dangerous, they bite and can carry diseases that hurt us. If you start feeling sick, let me know right away and I’ll take you to a doctor.” 

“Okay.” 

“And I thought I told you not to play with knives. Your body doesn’t have the strength to handle them safely yet.” 

“I used scissors,” Ashton told her quickly, pointing to the bloody paving stones where he’d left them. 

Moira exhaled irritably. “Okay.” She took him inside to wash with soap. “Are you gonna cut up anything else?” 

Ashton shook his head. “It’s cruel.” 

Moira nodded. “Yep.” 

Ashton hoped Moira wouldn’t be too angry with him. He really did try to be a good human, even if he messed up sometimes. He didn’t want her to give up on trying to teach him how. 

To show that he could be good, he decided he’d do something he knew he was allowed to until dinner. One four-year-old-appropriate activity he liked was colouring. Moira had bought him several colouring books to help him train his fine motor skills and he’d been getting better at staying inside the lines recently. 

As he worked on a picture of a kangaroo, Moira came in with a huge book and sat on the floor next to him. 

“Thought you might like this.” 

Ashton sat up to see and she handed him the book. On the cover was a drawing of a human, except on one half of their body their skin was heavily lined with flowing red shapes and the other was just a bunch of thin yellowish shapes where their body _should_ be. 

“It’s about humans, not dogs or rats,” Moira explained, “But I thought it would be a good compromise for now.”

“What’s wrong with their skin?” 

“Those are muscles. They’re _under_ your skin, attached to your bones.” She pointed to the other half of the human. “They make you move.” 

“How?”

Moira opened the book and flipped through to a page with bigger pictures of muscles and bones. “Your brain sends electricity to the muscles and they pull the bones,” she began. 

Ashton listened intently as Moira explained the complexities of how bodies worked, every new piece of information more exciting and fascinating than the last. Humans were so _interesting. ___

**Author's Note:**

> I run tran5rightsos on Tumblr! Feel free to send asks about this or any of my other 5sos fics!
> 
> Comments are always welcome.


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